Cuomo spokesman responds to House committee subpoena over COVID-19 nursing home policies: 'Clowns'

Former Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's spokesman called Congress a "circus" filled with "clowns" in response to a House committee subpoenaing the former New York leader over his COVID-19 nursing home policies. 

"Congress is officially a circus, and they are nothing but clowns," Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement posted to X on Wednesday.

"This is on them, not us," Azzopardi said in the statement. "The Governor's counsel two weeks ago provided dates for an interview and even offered to have any questions answered in writing prior to."

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic announced it subpoenaed Cuomo on Tuesday to testify on May 24 regarding coronavirus policies and nursing homes. The former governor came under fire in 2020 when he ordered nursing homes to accept recovering COVID patients, which critics argued fanned the flames of deaths in nursing homes during the pandemic. 

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Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during the daily media briefing at the Office of the Governor of the State of New York on June 12, 2020 in New York City. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the "Say Their Name" reform legislation, an agenda that calls for better policing standards in New York State in the wake of recent protests and in response to George Floyds death. (Jeenah Moon/Getty Images)

The committee told the former New York governor that the "misguided decision effectively admitted thousands of COVID-19 positive patients into nursing homes, causing predictable but deadly consequences for New York’s most vulnerable."

Azzopardi continued in his statement that Cuomo's policies had previously been reviewed by DOJ leaders under both the Trump and Biden administrations, as well as Congress, and that the subpoena is a "press charade." 

"This is an obvious press charade: they issue a subpoena as a press release," he wrote. 

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"The simple fact remains that this issue has been reviewed three times by the Department of Justice under Trump and Biden, as well as Congress and the Manhattan District Attorney who found no there there [sic]," Azzopardi said in the statement. "New York followed the guidance put forth by the Trump administration in March of 2020 — as did other Democratic and Republican states. If they have a problem with that, they should look in the mirror. Congress knows this, but it’s not about the facts, this is about politics."

Azzopardi provided Fox News Digital with a letter sent by Cuomo's attorney Rita Glavin to Subcommittee Chair Brad Wenstrup, outlining that she had provided four dates for an August interview and that she had not heard back from the office until this week. 

"Pursuant to a conversation with your staff on February 12, 2024, in a February 21, 2024 email we provided four dates (August 6, 7, 13 or 14) that both Governor Cuomo and I are available for such an interview," Glavin wrote in the letter, dated Monday. 

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Photo of nurse tending to sick patient. (Martin Barraud via Getty Images)

She continued that she had not heard back from the office until Monday, and asked Wenstrup to "reconsider issuing a subpoena." 

"Specifically, earlier today, staff members asked me to accept electronic service of a subpoena to compel Governor Cuomo’s attendance for testimony. Given Governor Cuomo’s stated willingness to appear voluntarily for a transcribed interview, we ask that you reconsider issuing a subpoena," she wrote. 

"To be clear, Gov. Cuomo has been and remains cooperative," she added. 

Cuomo stepped down as governor in 2021 amid accusations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. 

He has previously defended New York's COVID policies regarding nursing homes as following guidance from the federal government.

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"If you think there was a mistake, then go talk to the federal government," he said at a press conference in 2021. "It’s not about pointing fingers or blame, this became a political football." 

Wenstrup wrote that "[t]he Select Subcommittee specifically requested your testimony because it was your administration that issued the March 25, 2020 nursing home order stating, in relevant part, that ‘[n]o resident shall be denied re-admission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on confirmed or suspect[ed] diagnosis of COVID-19.’"

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo shows off a mask that has both New York Yankees and New York Mets logos during an event at his office in New York, Thursday, March 18, 2021. Cuomo spoke about the return of spectators to performing arts and sporting events, including a limited amount of fans attending baseball games at the start of the season. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

"Of course, you have argued — even after leaving office — that the March 25 Order was consistent with CMS and CDC guidance. In addition, you have argued that it was the nursing home staff — not your Administration’s order — that was responsible for the resulting deaths in the nursing homes," Wenstrup continued. 

Azzopardi concluded in his statement that Congress continues to "play politics" with the pandemic while war rages in Ukraine. 

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"Do your job: Ukrainian soldiers are throwing stones at Russian tanks because we haven't sent ammunition, and we still don't have a budget. Instead, they continue to play politics with Covid and weaponize people's pain and loss of loved ones," he wrote. 

Fox News' Greg Norman, Andrea Vacchiano, Tyler Olson, Rich Edson contributed to this report.